Not all heroes wear capes.

In Boulder, Colorado, a new law took effect which bans not only the sale but possession of certain types of “assault rifles” and accessories. Falling under the shadow of that law was Denver Post columnist Jon Caldara, who owns an AR-15 style rifle. Rather than going and meekly turning in his firearm to the police, Caldara took to the pages of his newspaper and to YouTube as well to inform the government that he could not in good conscience comply with the order and would not be surrendering his rifle. It wasn’t quite a “Come and get ’em” message, but the impact was the same. (Free Beacon)

Jon Caldara, Denver Post columnist and Independence Institute president, published a video and column declaring he would not surrender his firearm despite a newly implemented Boulder regulation requiring him to do so.

“At the beginning of January I became a criminal in my tolerant hometown of Boulder,” Caldara wrote for the Complete Colorado.

On Jan. 1, Boulder’s ban on so-called assault weapons went into effect. Caldara said he is in violation of the law now because he owns a rifle with a pistol grip that accepts detachable magazines—a commonly owned style of rifle in the United States—and the city’s ban makes possession illegal of it unless residents submit to police inspection and certification of their firearm. He said he is a law-abiding father of two who won’t submit to police investigation and simply wants to be left alone by the city.

Please do check out the video where the man explains his position in his own words. It’s less than four minutes long.

That’s a seriously inspirational and yet alarming story. Jon finishes with the bold statement, “I will not comply.” But only after he points out the rank hypocrisy of the supposedly tolerant community that wants to single out legal gun owners, force them to “self-identify” and report to the police for inspections and investigations over a piece of property he’s already owned for a long time. Gun owners are being ostracized. His children face harassment at school.

It’s a frightening situation. And it’s what we can expect to see repeatedly if more places adopt confiscation laws like this. (Keep your eye on the state of Virginia which we covered earlier today.) If it can happen in Boulder, it can happen in your home town too. Best of luck to Mr. Caldara.